1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to child-resistant caps for containers for which there is a need to inhibit or prevent children from opening them. The caps of the present invention have inner caps and outercaps with two separate sets of ratchets which operate independently of one another, one set for opening and one set for closing the caps.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
There are literally thousands of prior art patents covering child-resistant features for container caps, covers and lids. The following prior art is of particular interest to the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,662 issued to Peter P. Gach describes a closure for a medical bottle or the like which requires a special operation to open. The closure is placed on, for example, a medicine bottle having a threaded neck. The closure includes an inner cap having threads adapted to engage with the threaded bottle neck. A plurality of vertical ribs are provided on the exterior sidewall of the inner cap. An overcap is positioned over the inner cap. The overcap includes at least one flexible portion movable toward the inner cap ribs. A series of mating ribs are provided on the flexible portion adjacent the inner cap ribs. To remove the closure, the flexible portion is depressed causing the adjacent ribs to mate. Rotation of the overcap, after such depression of the flexible portion, transfers force to the inner cap and the closure can be removed from the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,582 issued to John J. Kowalik describes a childproof closure comprising a cap which may be threaded or snapped onto a complementary finish on a neck of a container, the cap having a flexible slotted lower skirt portion provided with inwardly projecting lugs which are adapted to snap under an annular shoulder at the lower end of the finish, the lugs lock beneath the shoulder when the cap is closed and snap out from under the shoulder when the cap is unscrewed or lifted. An auxiliary locking ring is movable and locked over the slotted skirt portion to prevent the lugs from releasing and is movable off the slotted portion to permit release of the lugs and opening of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,690 issued to Stewart H. Birrell, et al. describes a safety closure and container assembly including a container and a closure comprising outer and inner caps which may be attached to the container by conventional capping machines. In first, second, third and fourth embodiments of the invention, the inner cap is formed with a circular dome-shaped top panel with a skirt portion projecting axially therefrom. The projecting skirt portion is threaded on its interior surface for engagement with a conventionally threaded container finish. A plurality of upwardly extending and spaced apart drive members are integrally molded with the periphery of the top panel. A plurality of ramped ratchet lugs also extend upwardly from the upper surface of the top panel. The outer cap has a circular end wall with an axially projecting second skirt portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,945 issued to Jeffrey Sandhaus describes a safety closure of the type having a unitary construction with a closed top from which an interiorly threaded skirt depends and a container having an exteriorly threaded neck on which the closure is mounted in sealing relationship. The safety closure has one or more locking members formed integrally therewith which are movable under the action of actuating apparatus between a non-locking position and a locking position in which the locking members engage appropriate corresponding locking elements provided on the neck of the container. The actuating apparatus is constituted by the top of the closure which has a dish-like configuration formed such that the application of a sufficient finger pressure on the top will result in the movement of the locking members from the locking to the non-locking position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,005 issued to Jerry Forrester describes a tamper-evident cap assembly for a container with an externally screw-threaded top has an inner cap having an annular wall and an open lower end, the annular wall having an internal screw-thread to enable the inner cap to be screwed onto the top of the container by clockwise movement of the inner cap relative to the container. An outer cap has an annular wall, a closed upper end and an open lower end, the outer cap being fitted over the inner cap and retained in assembly with the inner cap. The annular walls of the inner and outer caps have mutually-engaging screw-threads to cause initial anticlockwise turning movement of the outer cap relative to the inner cap. The inner and outer caps have cooperating ratchets to cause clockwise movement of the outer cap to be transmitted to the inner cap while permitting anticlockwise movement of the outer cap relative to the inner cap. The closed end of the outer cap has a window and the inner cap has an insignia which is not visible in the window when the outer cap is in an initial relatively clockwise position relative to the inner cap and which is visible when the outer cap has been turned in an initial anticlockwise movement relative to the inner cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,926 issued to Albert J. Agbay, et al. describes safety closures resistant to (and evidencing) tampering comprising a snap cap or screw cap, a rotary safety ring, and a tear tab attached to the neck of the container, said closure requiring that the tear tab be removed before the safety ring can be lowered; the safety ring must be aligned with the cap in one angular position and pushed downwardly away from the cap before the cap can be removed from the container. These safety closures may include a tear pin, attached to the cap and to the ring, which must be broken before the cap can be removed from the container; the tear pin may be in addition to, or an alternative for, the tear tab. The tear pin and tear tab are made to be removable. This invention describes a tamper resistant and tamper evident closure comprising a cap having a depending annular flange with a slot therein, and an outwardly directed wing protruding through said slot; the cap cannot be removed without causing the cap to shear off the outwardly directed wing, which is made to be removable. This invention describes a tamper resistant and tamper evident closure comprising a screw cap having an engaging surface located next to a projecting member attached to the neck of the container so that the engaging surface will always shear off the projecting member, which is made to be removable, when the screw cap is first removed from the container.
Notwithstanding the prior art, it is believed that the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious.